"You find it has a very negative effect on parent-child relationships. It can make a child very defiant," she said.

"It can mean the parent has to use a more extreme form of discipline and it does send a message to children that if you are stressed, that the aggressive forms of behaviour are acceptable. You find that it does contribute to things like domestic violence."

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs said corporal punishment is prohibited in a number of settings under Irish law and it said that any proposal to prohibit the defence of "reasonable chastisement" requires careful consideration.

The department said there is a balance to be found between supporting parents in effective parenting, and the use of criminal law to impose criminal sanctions on parents who do not adhere to best practice in parenting.